Image output system, information processing device, and authentication device

ABSTRACT

An information processing terminal transmits, to an authentication server, information obtained by imaging a code pattern of multifunction device information, and authentication information inputted by a user. The authentication server performs user authentication based on the received authentication information and specifies a multifunction device based on the received information of the code pattern. If the user has been authenticated, the authentication server transmits print data corresponding to the user to the multifunction device and prescribes the execution of print processing to the multifunction device. The multifunction device executes print process based on the obtained print data.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/808,242 filed on Jul. 24, 2015, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 14/366,151 filed on Jun. 17, 2014, now U.S.Pat. No. 9,131,093 which is the national phase under 35 U.S.C. § 371 ofPCT International Application PCT/JP2012/082439 which has anInternational filing date of Dec. 14, 2012 and designated the UnitedStates of America, which claims priority to Japanese Patent ApplicationNos. 2011-277485 and 2011-277486 filed on Dec. 19, 2011.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to: an image output system in which a userinstructs, by using an information processing device, a desired imageoutput device to output an image; the information processing device; andan authentication device which authenticates the user.

2. Description of Related Art

Recently, information terminal devices such as smartphones and tabletterminals have rapidly spread and a demand for printing processing ofdata such as photographs and documents stored in the informationterminal devices has rapidly increased. The information terminal deviceincludes a communication function for connecting to a network andtransmits the data to a multifunction device via the network, to be ableto easily print the data.

However, in order to transmit data to the multifunction device, specificinformation for specifying a multifunction device to which the data istransmitted is required. As the specific information for specifying themultifunction device, for example, an Internet Protocol (IP) addressassigned to the multifunction device may be used. However, it isdifficult to obtain such information. A method for posting the IPaddress assigned to the multifunction device on the multifunction devicemay be used to obtain the information, but this method has a securityproblem.

Therefore, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-274520discloses a system for converting the specific information of eachmultifunction device into code patterns and displaying the code patternson each multifunction device. In the system disclosed in Patent Document1, a user photographs the code patterns by using a camera function ofthe information terminal device and decodes the code patterns, so as toobtain the specific information of the multifunction device. Thereby, itis possible to obtain the specific information of the multifunctiondevice that the user desires to use, while maintaining the security.

SUMMARY

In the case of the multifunction device used in an office, to preventinformation from leaking from the multifunction device and monitor theused information and the like, an authentication system forauthenticating the user when using the multifunction device has beengenerally introduced.

Even the system disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No.2004-274520 has a configuration to make communication terminalsauthenticate each other based on a PIN code which is shared between thecommunication terminals. However, the configuration disclosed inJapanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-274520 is not a structureto authenticate a user but instead is a structure to securely transmitand receive data. Further, in the configuration disclosed in JapanesePatent Application Laid-open No. 2004-274520, the PIN code needs to beset in the multifunction device in advance, and therefore, when severalmultifunction devices are installed, it is necessary to register andchange the PIN codes for each of the multifunction devices. As a result,the system disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a problem that it isnecessary to carry out such operations.

Further, the authentication system includes, for example, a computerwhich are used by a user, a multifunction device and an authenticationserver, and has a configuration in which a user requests authenticationto the authentication server using the computer. Further, theauthentication server is configured to receive a printing request to thedesired multifunction device along with the authentication request fromthe user (computer), and transmit the printing request to themultifunction device designated by the user only when the user isauthenticated. In this configuration, the specific information of themultifunction device is transmitted from the computer to theauthentication server along with the authentication request, andcommunication identification information (specific information) such asthe IP address is transmitted onto a communication path from thecomputer to the authentication server. Accordingly, there is a problemthat secret information such as communication identification informationmay be illegally obtained.

The present invention has been made with the aim of solving the aboveproblems. It is an object of the present invention to provide an imageoutput system and an information processing device capable of allowing auser to easily use a desired image output device without knowingspecific information of the image output device (multifunction device)in advance at the time of using the image output device itself. Further,it is another object of the present invention to provide anauthentication device and an image output system capable of preventingillegal obtainment of secret information.

An image output system of the present invention is an image outputsystem which comprises: an image output device outputting an image basedon obtained data; an information processing device instructing executionof the image output by the image output device; and an authenticationdevice authenticating a user who instructs the execution of the imageoutput through the information processing device. The image outputsystem is characterized in that the information processing deviceincludes: a device information obtaining unit that obtains deviceinformation for specifying the image output device; an user informationobtaining unit that obtains user information for specifying a user; anda transmitting unit that transmits the device information obtained bythe device information obtaining unit and the user information obtainedby the user information obtaining unit to the authentication device. Theimage output system is characterized in that the authentication deviceincludes: an authentication unit that authenticates the user based onthe user information obtained from the information processing device; aspecifying unit that specifies the image output device based on thedevice information obtained from the information processing device; anda control unit that allows the user authenticated by the authenticationunit to execute the image output instructed to the image output devicespecified by the specifying unit.

According to the present invention, in the image output system in whichthe user (instructor) instructs execution of the image output by theimage output device by using the information processing device, theinformation processing device obtains the device information forspecifying the image output device and the user information forspecifying the user, and transmits the obtained information to theauthentication device. The authentication device authenticates the userbased on the obtained user information, specifies the image outputdevice based on the obtained device information, and allows theauthenticated user to execute the image output instructed to thespecified image output device. When requesting authentication to theauthentication device, the information processing device transmits thedevice information of the image output device to allow theauthentication device to specify the image output device that theauthenticated user desires to use.

In the image output system according to the present invention, theinformation processing device include a code reading unit that reads acode pattern coding the device information, and the device informationobtaining unit obtains the device information read by the code readingunit.

According to the present invention, the information processing devicereads the code pattern coding the device information to obtain thedevice information. Therefore, the user can easily obtain the deviceinformation of the image output device that the user desires to use,while maintaining security, without knowing the device information(destination information such as the IP address) of the image outputdevice in advance.

In the image output system according to the present invention, the codereading unit includes an image obtaining unit, and the deviceinformation obtaining unit obtains the device information from dataobtained by imaging the code pattern using the image obtaining unit.

According to the present invention, the information processing deviceobtains the device information from data obtained by imaging the codepattern coding the device information by using the image obtaining unit.Therefore, the device information of the image output device can beeasily obtained using the information processing device having thecamera function, while maintaining security.

In the image output system according to the present invention, theauthentication device has a storage unit in which data to be processedby the image output device for each user are stored, and the controlunit transmits the data stored in the storage unit in association withthe user to the image output device.

According to the present invention, the authentication device stores thedata to be processed by the image output device for each user, andtransmits the data stored in association with the user to the imageoutput device when the execution of the image output instructed by theuser is permitted. Therefore, if the user stores, in the authenticationdevice, the data to be processed in advance, the user only requests theauthentication to the authentication device by using the informationprocessing device, to execute the image output.

In the image output system according to the present invention, thedevice information includes information for specifying theauthentication device assigned to the image output device. In the imageoutput system, the information processing device includes anauthentication device specifying unit that specifies the authenticationdevice based on the device information, and the transmitting unittransmits the device information and the user information to theauthentication device specified by the authentication device specifyingunit.

According to the present invention, the device information includes theinformation for specifying the authentication device assigned to theimage output device, and the information processing device specifies theauthentication device based on the device information and transmits thedevice information and the user information to the specifiedauthentication device. Therefore, even when burden is dispersed by aplurality of authentication devices, the information processing devicecan specify an appropriate authentication device and efficiently requestthe authentication.

In the image output system according to the present invention, theauthentication device includes a request reception unit that receives adata request from the image output device, and the control unittransmits the data to the image output device based on the requestreceived by the request reception unit, when the data cannot betransmitted to the image output device.

According to the present invention, when the data cannot be transmittedto the image output device, the authentication device transmits the datato the image output device based on the data request received from theimage output device. Therefore, for example, even when theauthentication device cannot transmit the data to the image outputdevice, the data can be transmitted from the authentication device tothe image output device depending on an access from the image outputdevice. For example, when the authentication device is connected to anInternet and the image output device is connected to only the Intranet,only the address for the Intranet connection is set in the image outputdevice, so that the authentication device cannot transmit data to theimage output device through the Internet. However, the image outputdevice can access the authentication device and periodically query theauthentication device whether there is a printing request (image outputrequest) to the image output device, and when there is a printingrequest, if the image output device is configured to obtain the data tobe processed from the authentication device, it is possible to transmitthe data from the authentication device to the image output device.

An information processing device of the present invention is aninformation processing device which instructs an execution of an imageoutput by an image output device. The information processing device ischaracterized by including: an image obtaining unit; a deviceinformation obtaining unit that obtains device information from dataobtained by imaging a code pattern coding the device information forspecifying the image output device by using the image obtaining unit; auser information obtaining unit that obtains user information forspecifying a user; and a transmitting unit that transmits the deviceinformation obtained by the device information obtaining unit and theuser information obtained by the user information obtaining unit to anoutside thereof.

According to the present invention, the information processing deviceobtains the device information from the data obtained by imaging thecode pattern coding the device information of the image output device byits own image obtaining unit. Further, the information processing deviceobtains the user information for specifying the user, transmits theobtained device information and user information to the authenticationdevice, and instructs an execution of an image output performed by animage output device. Therefore, if the user requests the authenticationto the authentication device through the information processing device,the device information of the image output device that the user desiresto use is notified the authentication device.

An authentication device of the present invention is an authenticationdevice which authenticates a user using an image output device. Theauthentication device is characterized by including: a deviceinformation obtaining unit that obtains device information forspecifying the image output device from an outside thereof; a userinformation obtaining unit that obtains user information for specifyinga user from the outside; an authentication unit that authenticates theuser based on the user information obtained by the user informationobtaining unit; a specifying unit that specifies the image output devicebased on the device information obtained by the device informationobtaining unit; and a permission unit that permits the userauthenticated by the authentication unit to use the image output devicespecified by the specifying unit.

According to the present invention, the authentication device whichauthenticates the user using the image output device obtains the deviceinformation for specifying the image output device, and the userinformation for specifying the user from the outside. The authenticationdevice authenticates the user based on the user information andspecifies the image output device based on the device information.Further, the authentication device permits the authenticated user to usethe specified image output device. Therefore, when the user requests theauthentication of the authentication device by using the device whichthe user has, the device information of the image output device istransmitted to the authentication device, so that the authenticationdevice can specify the image output device that the user desires to use.

The authentication device of the present invention includes: adestination storage unit that stores the device information anddestination information of the image output device in association witheach other; and a data storage unit that stores the data to be processedby the image output device for each user. In the authentication device,the specifying unit specifies the destination information of the imageoutput device corresponding to the device information based on theinformation stored in the destination storage unit, and the permissionunit transmits the data stored in the data storage unit in associationwith the user permitted to use the image output device to the imageoutput device based on the destination information specified by thespecifying unit.

According to the present invention, the authentication device stores thedevice information and the destination information of the image outputdevice in association with each other, so that the authentication devicecan specify the destination information of the image output devicecorresponding to the obtained device information. Since the destinationinformation (for example, network identification information of the IPaddress or the like) of the image output device is managed by theauthentication device side, when the processing request of the imageoutput device is transmitted from an external device (device to be usedby the user) to the authentication device, there is no need to transmitthe destination information of the image output device to theauthentication device. Therefore, since the network identificationinformation such as the IP address is not transmitted onto thecommunication path, it is possible to prevent the illegal obtainment ofsecret information such as the network identification information. It isalso possible to reduce the risk of the secret information leakage byusing the low security risk information such as the installation placeof the image output device, as the device information. Further, it ispossible to unitarily manage the destination information of each imageoutput device in the authentication device.

Further, since the data to be processed by the image output device arestored for each user at the authentication device, when the use of theimage output device is permitted to the user, the authentication devicetransmits the data stored in association with the user to the imageoutput device based on the specified destination information. Therefore,if the user stores, in the authentication device, the data to beprocessed in advance, the user only requests the authentication to theauthentication device through the device which the user has, to executethe image output.

In the authentication device of the present invention, the deviceinformation obtaining unit obtains the setting conditions relating tothe processing by the image output device along with the deviceinformation, and the permission unit transmits, to the image outputdevice, the execution instruction of the image output based on thesetting conditions obtained by the device information obtaining unitalong with the data.

According to the present invention, the authentication device obtainsthe setting conditions relating to the processing by the image outputdevice along with the device information, and transmits the executioninstruction of the image output based on the obtained setting conditionsto the image output device. Therefore, a user, who desires to requestthe printing to be executed by the image output device, may allow thedevice for the user to obtain the setting conditions along with thedevice information of the image output device and to transmit theobtained setting conditions to the authentication device. Thus, theexecution of the printing processing based on the desired settingconditions can be requested and the printing processing can be performedsmoothly.

In the authentication device of the present invention, the deviceinformation obtaining unit obtains status information relating to theoperation state of the image output device along with the deviceinformation. The authentication device includes a determination unitthat determines whether the image output device is able to operate basedon the status information obtained by the device information obtainingunit.

According to the present invention, the authentication device obtainsthe status information relating to the operation state of the imageoutput device along with the device information, and determines whetherthe image output device is able to operate based on the obtained statusinformation. Therefore, when any error occurs in the image outputdevice, the authentication device can understand the situation. Thus, itis possible to cope rapidly with the error.

In the authentication device according to the present invention, theuser information obtaining unit obtains the permission informationrepresenting the use permission of the image output device instead ofthe user information. In the authentication device, when the userinformation obtaining unit obtains the permission information, thepermission unit permits the use of the image output device specified bythe specifying unit.

According to the present invention, the authentication device obtainsthe permission information representing the user permission of the imageoutput device instead of the user information, and when obtaining thepermission information, permits the use of the image output devicewithout authenticating the user. Therefore, even though the user doesnot have an authority to use the image output device, it is possible touse the image output device.

The authentication device of the present invention includes: a usercondition storage unit that stores the user and the setting conditionsrelating to the processing which can be executed by the user inassociation with each other; and a user condition specifying unit thatspecifies the setting conditions of the image output to be executedbased on the setting conditions obtained by the device informationobtaining unit and the setting conditions stored in the user conditionstorage unit. In the authentication device, the permission unittransmits, to the image output device, the execution instruction of theimage output based on the setting conditions specified by the usercondition specifying unit.

According to the present invention, the authentication device storeseach user and the setting conditions relating to the processing whichcan be executed by each user in association with each other, andspecifies the setting conditions of the image output to be executedbased on the setting conditions obtained from the outside and thesetting conditions previously stored for each user. Further, theauthentication device transmits the execution instruction of the imageoutput based on the specified setting conditions to the image outputdevice. Therefore, by previously registering the setting conditions inwhich setting is permitted for each user in the authentication device,the authentication device can instruct the image output device toexecute the printing processing based on the pre-registered settingconditions when obtaining the printing request from each user. In thiscase, the printing conditions which can be executed by each user can belimited, and the printing processing result in the pre-registeredprinting conditions can be reliably obtained.

The authentication device of the present invention include: a devicecondition storage unit that stores the image output device and settingconditions relating to the processing by the image output device inassociation with each other; and a device condition specifying unit thatspecifies the setting conditions of the image output to be executedbased on the setting conditions obtained by the device informationobtaining unit and the setting conditions stored in the device conditionstorage unit. In the authentication device, the permission unittransmits the execution instruction of the image output based on thesetting conditions specified by the device condition specifying unit tothe image output device.

According to the present invention, the authentication device storeseach image output device and the setting conditions relating toprocessing by each image output device in association with each other,and specifies the setting conditions of the image output to be executedbased on the setting conditions obtained from the outside and thesetting conditions previously stored for each image output device.Further, the authentication device transmits the execution instructionof the image output based on the specified setting conditions to theimage output device. Therefore, for example, even when the printingprocessing of the setting conditions obtained by the authenticationdevice from the external device (device to be used by the user) cannotbe executed by the corresponding image output device, the printingprocessing based on the setting conditions which can be executed by theimage output device is reliably executed.

An image output system of the present invention is an image outputsystem which includes: an image output device outputting an image basedon obtained data; an information processing device instructing executionof the image output by the image output device; and an authenticationdevice authenticating a user who instructs the image output by using theinformation processing device. The image output system is characterizedin that the information processing device includes: a device informationobtaining unit that obtains device information for specifying the imageoutput device; a user information obtaining unit that obtains userinformation for specifying a user; and a transmitting unit thattransmits the device information obtained by the device informationobtaining unit and user information obtained by the user informationobtaining unit to the authentication device. The image output system ischaracterized in that the authentication device includes: anauthentication unit that authenticates the user based on the userinformation obtained from the information processing device; aspecifying unit that specifies the image output device based on thedevice information obtained from the information processing device; anda permission unit that permits the user authenticated by theauthentication unit to use the image output device specified by thespecifying unit.

According to the present invention, in the image output system in whichthe user (instructor) instructs the execution of the image output by theimage output device by using the information processing device, theinformation processing device obtains the device information of theimage output device and the user information, and transmits the obtainedinformation to the authentication device. The authentication deviceauthenticates the user based on the obtained user information, specifiesthe image output device based on the obtained device information, andallows the authenticated user to execute the image output by thespecified image output device. When the information processing devicerequests the authentication to the authentication device, the deviceinformation of the image output device is transmitted to theauthentication device, so that the authentication device can specify theimage output device that the authenticated user desires to use.

According to the present invention, in the system in which the userinstructs an execution of the image output by the image output device byusing the information processing device, the user need not know theinformation (destination information such as IP address) about the imageoutput device in advance. In particular, in the system in which the userauthentication is introduced at the time of the use of the image outputdevice, when the user requests the authentication to the authenticationdevice by using the information processing device, the deviceinformation of the image output device is also transmitted, so that thedesired image output device can be easily used.

According to the present invention, the authentication device whichauthenticates the user using the image output device obtains the deviceinformation of the image output device along with the user information,and specifies the image output device based on the obtained deviceinformation. Since the image output device is specified by theauthentication device side, the user need not know the information(destination information such as the IP address) relating to the imageoutput device in advance. Further, the device information obtained fromthe outside by the authentication device does not include thedestination information such as the IP address of the image outputdevice, and when the authentication device specifies the destinationinformation of the image output device, secret information such as thedestination information is not transmitted, and therefore illegalobtainment of the secret information can be prevented.

The above and further objects and features will more fully be apparentfrom the following detailed description with accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a configuration of an imageoutput system according to Embodiment 1;

FIG. 2 is a block view illustrating a configuration of a multifunctiondevice, an authentication server, and an information processingterminal;

FIG. 3 is a block view illustrating a functional configuration of theauthentication server;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating a configuration of amultifunction device information DB and a user information DB;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of printing processing bythe image output system;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the procedure of the printingprocessing by the image output system;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view illustrating a configuration example of aprinting request screen;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view illustrating an example of a code pattern ofinformation of the multifunction device;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of printing processing byan image output system according to Embodiment 2;

FIG. 10 is a schematic view illustrating a modified example of theprinting request screen;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of code patterngenerating processing by a multifunction device according to Embodiment3;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of printing processingby an image output system according to Embodiment 3;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of code patterngenerating processing by a multifunction device according to Embodiment4;

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of printing processingby an image output system according to Embodiment 4;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of code patterngenerating processing by a multifunction device according to Embodiment5;

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of printing processingby an image output system according to Embodiment 5; and

FIG. 17 is a schematic view illustrating a configuration example of theprinting request screen.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following will describe in detail an image output system, aninformation processing device, and an authentication device according tothe present invention with reference to the drawings illustrating someembodiments thereof.

(Embodiment 1)

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating a configuration of an imageoutput system according to Embodiment 1, and FIG. 2 is a block viewillustrating a configuration of a multifunction device, anauthentication server, and an information processing terminal. The imageoutput system according to Embodiment 1 includes a multifunction device(image output device) 1, an authentication server (authenticationdevice) 2, and an information processing terminal (informationprocessing device) 3, each of which can be connected to a network N suchas the Internet. Hereinafter, the system in which the multifunctiondevice 1, the authentication server 2, and the information processingterminal 3 may be each provided singularly is described by way ofexample, but a plurality of any one or all of the multifunction device1, the authentication server 2, and the information processing terminal3 may also be provided, respectively.

The multifunction device 1 is a digital multifunction device or ananalog multifunction device, and may be installed in, for example, aconvenience store. The multifunction device 1 includes a control unit10, an operation panel 11, an image reading unit 12, an image formingunit 13, a communication unit 14 and the like.

The operation panel 11 is a touch panel in which an input unit 11 a anda display unit 11 b are integrally configured. The input unit 11 aincludes various input keys required to operate the multifunction device1 by a user and receives information based on the input key operated bythe user and transmits the received information to the control unit 10.The display unit 11 b is, for example, a liquid crystal display, aplasma display, an organic EL panel and the like, and displaysinformation notified to the user, information required for an operationand the like depending on an instruction from the control unit 10.Further, the input unit 11 a and the display unit 11 b may be separatelydisposed, without using the touch panel.

The image reading unit 12 is, for example, a scanner including a chargedcoupled device (CCD) and reads characters, images and the like, whichare printed on a document, as image data. Further, the image readingunit 12 may has a function of transferring sequentially each sheet ofdocuments, which are placed on a predetermined document tray, up topositions read by the scanner.

The image forming unit 13 is an image forming means based on anelectro-photographic system, an inkjet system, a thermal transfer systemor the like, and performs a printing processing (image output) based onimage data that the image reading unit 12 read from a document orprinting data that the communication unit 14 receives from outsidethrough a network N. The image forming unit 13 forms images(characters/photographs/graphics) on a recording sheet, such asrecording paper, based on the image data or the printing data.

The communication unit 14 includes a network card, a modem and the like,and can be connected to the communication network N such as apublic-line network, a local area network (LAN), and the Internet, andcommunicates with external devices, such as the authentication server 2and the information processing terminal 3 through the network N. Thecommunication unit 14 may be an interface for communication with wire,and may also be an interface for wireless communication. Further, thecommunication unit 14 may be directly connected with the authenticationserver 2 through a physical cable.

Further, the communication unit 14 has a function of transmitting andreceiving an email, and may also transmit and receive an email throughthe network N.

The control unit 10 includes a central processing unit (CPU), amicroprocessor unit (MPU) or the like, and controls operations of eachunit which is included in the multifunction device 1. In detail, the CPUor the MPU of the control unit 10 loads and executes a control programpreviously stored in a ROM (not illustrated) into a RAM (notillustrated) to operate the multifunction device 1 as the image outputdevice of the image output system according to the present invention.

Further, the multifunction device 1 includes a storage device (notillustrated) such as a hard disk drive (HDD) and stores various kinds ofdata (printing data) received from the external device as a data to beprinted.

The authentication server 2 is a server computer, and is linked with themultifunction device 1 to perform the authentication processing of theuser using the multifunction device 1. The authentication server 2includes a control unit 20, a storage unit 21, a communication unit 22and the like.

The storage unit 21 is a storage device such as an HDD, and storesvarious kinds of control programs, various kinds of data and the like,which are required for processing executed by the authentication server2. Further, in the storage unit 21, an electronic data database(hereinafter, referred to an electronic data DB) 21 a, a multifunctiondevice information database (hereinafter, referred to as a multifunctiondevice information DB) 21 b, and a user information database(hereinafter, referred to as a user information DB) 21 c are stored (seeFIG. 3).

The communication unit 22 has the same configuration as thecommunication unit 14 of the multifunction device 1. Therefore, thecommunication unit 22 communicates with external devices, such as themultifunction device 1 and the information processing terminal 3 throughthe network N. Further, the communication unit 22 has a function oftransmitting and receiving an email, and may also transmit and receivean email through the network N.

The control unit 20 includes the CPU, the MPU or the like, and controlsan operation of each unit which is included in the authentication server2. In detail, the CPU or the MPU of the control unit 20 loads andexecutes the control program previously stored in the storage unit 21 orthe ROM (not illustrated) into the RAM (not illustrated) to operate theauthentication server 2 as the authentication device of the image outputsystem according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block view illustrating the functional configuration of theauthentication server 2. In the control unit 20 of the authenticationserver 2, the CPU or the MPU executes a control program previouslystored in the storage unit 21 or the ROM to realize each function of afunction control unit 23, a storage processing unit 24, a multifunctiondevice management unit 25, and a user authentication unit 26. Thefunction control unit 23 controls each operation of the storageprocessing unit 24, the multifunction device management unit 25, and theuser authentication unit 26.

The storage processing unit 24 stores the printing data (electronic filedata to be printed by the multifunction device 1), which is receivedfrom the outside via the network N through the communication unit 22, inthe electronic data DB 21 a. Further, the communication unit 22 receivesthe printing data from the information processing terminal 3 and apersonal computer (not illustrated) which can be connected to thenetwork N. Further, the printing data are transmitted along with theuser information of the user who uses the multifunction device 1 toperform the printing processing using the print service provided by theimage output system. Further, the user who desires to use the printservice provided by the image output system needs to be registered inadvance and the user information transmitted along with the printingdata is a user ID which is registered at the time of the userregistration.

Therefore, when receiving the printing data from the outside, thestorage processing unit 24 stores the received printing data in theelectronic data DB 21 a in association with the user ID received alongwith the printing data.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating a configuration of themultifunction device information DB 21 b and the user information DB 21c.

The multifunction device information DB 21 b are registered with amultifunction device ID for specifying each multifunction device 1, IPaddresses assigned to each multifunction device 1, and settingconditions which can be used in each multifunction device 1 inassociation with one another. When the communication unit 22 of theauthentication server 2 receives a change or an addition of theregistration information of the multifunction device information DB 21 bthrough the network N or the operation unit (not illustrated), themultifunction device management unit 25 updates the registrationinformation of the multifunction device information DB 21 b. Themultifunction device management unit 25 manages the information of themultifunction device 1 to be managed by its own authentication server 2,based on the registration information of the multifunction deviceinformation DB 21 b.

Further, if the information registered in the multifunction deviceinformation DB 21 b is information which can identify each of theplurality of multifunction devices 1, the information is not limited tothe above-described information.

According to Embodiment 1, the multifunction device ID (serial number)is used as the multifunction device information for specifying themultifunction device 1, but any information which can specify each ofthe multifunction devices 1, such as names given to each multifunctiondevice 1 and information for specifying the installation place(convenience store) of the multifunction device 1, may be used. Further,according to Embodiment 1, the IP address is used as the destinationinformation of the multifunction device 1, but the networkidentification information, such as a host name and a MAC addressassigned to the multifunction device 1, may be used. Further, accordingto Embodiment 1, the setting conditions which can be used in eachmultifunction device 1 is registered in the multifunction deviceinformation DB 21 b, but the above-described information may not beregistered in the multifunction device information DB 21 b.

The user information DB 21 c is registered with the user ID and apassword of the user registered in the print service by the user and thesetting conditions that allow each user to use in the multifunctiondevice 1 in association with each other. When the communication unit 22of the authentication server 2 receives the change or addition of theregistration information of the user information DB 21 c through thenetwork N, the control unit 20 updates the registration information ofthe user information DB 21 c. Further, the setting conditions (settingconditions permitted to be used) which can be used in the multifunctiondevice 1 by each user may not be registered in the user information DB21 c.

When the communication unit 22 receives the user authentication requestalong with the user ID and the password through the network N, the userauthentication unit (authentication unit) 26 performs the authenticationprocessing based on the registration contents of the user information DB21 c. In detail, the user authentication unit 26 compares and combinesthe user ID and the password received by the communication unit 22 withthe registration information of the user information DB 21 c todetermine whether the user ID and the password are registered in theuser information DB 21 c.

Here, the description of FIG. 2 is referred to again. The informationprocessing terminal 3 is a portable information terminal such as aportable computer, a portable game machine, a portable telephone, or apersonal digital assistants (PDA). The information processing terminal 3includes a control unit 30, a storage unit 31, an operation panel 32, animage obtaining unit 33, a communication unit 34 and the like.

The storage unit 31 is a storage device such as the HDD, a flash memoryor the like, and stores various kinds of control programs required forprocessing executed by the information processing terminal 3, variouskinds of data, image data obtained by imaging using the image obtainingunit 33 and the like.

The operation panel 32 has the same configuration as the operation panel11 of the multifunction device 1 and includes an input unit 32 a and adisplay unit 32 b. The input unit 32 a receives the information based onthe input key operated by the user and transmits the receivedinformation to the control unit 30. The display unit 32 b displays theinformation to be notified to the user, the information required foroperation and the like depending on the instruction from the controlunit 30.

The image obtaining unit 33 may be a camera, and performs aphotoelectric conversion on an optical signal inputted through the CCDto obtain the image data.

The communication unit 34 has the same configuration as thecommunication unit 14 of the multifunction device 1. Therefore, thecommunication unit 34 communicates with the external devices, such asthe multifunction device 1 and the authentication server 2 through thenetwork N. Further, the information processing terminal 3 is a portableterminal device, and therefore the communication unit 34 may beconfigured to perform only the wireless communication.

The control unit 30 includes the CPU, the MPU or the like, and controlsan operation of each unit which is included in the informationprocessing terminal 3. In detail, the CPU or the MPU of the control unit30 loads and executes the control program previously stored in thestorage unit 31 or the ROM (not illustrated) into the RAM (notillustrated) to operate the information processing terminal 3 as theinformation processing device of the image output system according tothe present invention.

In the image output system having the above-described configuration, forexample, a user who is registered as a user in advance writes printingdata such as documents using the personal computer at his/her home.Further, the user transmits the printing data from the personal computerat his/her home to the authentication server 2, and the printing dataare registered in the authentication server 2. Further, when the useractually desires to use the multifunction device 1 to execute theprinting processing, the user obtains the information of themultifunction device (device information) for specifying themultifunction device 1 using the information processing terminal 3,transmits the information of the multifunction device and the userinformation (authentication information) to the authentication server 2,and requests the user authentication and the printing execution to theauthentication server 2. The authentication server 2 performs the userauthentication required from the information processing terminal 3, andwhen the user is authenticated, transmits the printing data kept inassociation with the user to the multifunction device 1, and instructsthe execution of the printing processing. Further, the processing ofregistering the printing data in the authentication server 2 and theprocessing of requesting the user authentication and the printingexecution to the authentication server 2 are performed, for example,through the web page provided from the print service by the image outputsystem.

Hereinafter, when the user (instructor) using the print serviceinstructs the printing processing to be executed by the multifunctiondevice 1 using the information processing terminal 3, the processingperformed by each device will be described. FIGS. 5 and 6 are flowchartsillustrating a procedure of printing processing by the image outputsystem. Further, the printing data are considered to be registered inthe electronic data DB 21 a of the authentication server 2 in advance.Further, in FIGS. 5 and 6, the left processing represents the processingexecuted by the multifunction device 1, the central processingrepresents the processing executed by the authentication server 2, andthe right processing represents the processing executed by theinformation processing terminal 3.

The user using the print service accesses the authentication server 2providing the print service using the information processing terminal 3.Further, the authentication server 2 also has a function as a webserver. The information processing terminal 3 obtains a predeterminedweb page from the authentication server 2 and displays a printingrequest screen on the display unit 32 b based on the obtained web page(S1).

FIG. 7 is a schematic view illustrating a configuration example of theprinting request screen. In the printing request screen illustrated inFIG. 7, an input column for inputting the user ID and the password ofthe user who desires to use the print service, a photographing button,and a print button are displayed. Further, as a method of obtaining theinformation of the multifunction device 1 using the informationprocessing terminal 3 in the present service, a description of the factthat the user photographs the pattern displayed on the multifunctiondevice 1 by using the image obtaining unit 33 of the informationprocessing terminal 3 is displayed in the vicinity of the photographingbutton.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view illustrating an example of a code pattern ofinformation of the multifunction device. The code pattern of theinformation of the multifunction device are a pattern obtained by codingthe information of the multifunction device required to specify themultifunction device 1, and may be a bar code, a QR code (registeredmark) or the like. According to Embodiment 1, as the information of themultifunction device, a multifunction device ID assigned to themultifunction device 1 is used. Further, if the information of themultifunction device is information which can specify the multifunctiondevice 1, any information such as the network identification informationof the host name, the IP address, the MAC address and the like assignedto the multifunction device 1, a name given to the multifunction device1, and information relating to the installation place (conveniencestore) of the multifunction device 1 may be used, and one or a pluralityof information may be used. Further, the code pattern may be displayedon the operation panel 11 (display unit 11 b) of the multifunctiondevice 1 and may be printed on paper so as to be attached onto anappropriate position of the multifunction device 1.

When the user operates the operation panel 32 of the informationprocessing terminal 3 to input his/her own user ID and the password, thecontrol unit (user information obtaining unit) 30 obtains the user IDand the password (user information for specifying the user) through theoperation panel 32 (input unit 32 a). Next, when the user operates thephotographing button, the control unit (device information obtainingunit) 30 allows the image obtaining unit 33 to be converted into theimaging mode, and photographs the code pattern as illustrated in FIG. 8to obtain the information (image data) of the code pattern. The userphotographs the code pattern, and then operates the print button torequest the printing execution by a desired multifunction device 1 tothe authentication server 2. The control unit 30 of the informationprocessing terminal 3 transmits the obtained information of the codepattern, the user ID, and the password (hereinafter, collectivelyreferred to as authentication information) to the authentication server2 through the communication unit (transmitting unit) 34 (S2).

The control unit 20 of the authentication server 2 obtains theinformation of the code pattern and the authentication informationthrough the communication unit 22 and performs the authenticationprocessing by the user authentication unit (authentication unit) 26based on the obtained authentication information (S3). The userauthentication unit 26 determines (authenticates) whether the user is aproper user registered as a user in advance based on whether theobtained authentication information is registered in the userinformation DB 21 c (S4). When the user is not authenticated (NO in S4),that is, is not a proper user, the control unit 20 notifies theinformation processing terminal 3 of the authentication errorrepresenting the fact that the authentication fails, through thecommunication unit 22 (S5). In this case, the control unit 20 of theauthentication server 2 discards the information of the code pattern andthe authentication information which are obtained from the informationprocessing terminal 3.

In the information processing terminal 3 that received theauthentication error, the control unit 30 displays, for example, theauthentication error on the operation panel 32 (S6), and ends theprocessing.

When the user is authenticated (YES in S4), that is, is a proper user,the control unit 20 of the authentication server 2 decodes theinformation of the code pattern obtained from the information processingterminal 3 (S7), and obtains the information (multifunction device ID)of the multifunction device. Further, the multifunction devicemanagement unit (specifying unit) 25 specifies the multifunction device1 based on the information of the multifunction device obtained bydecoding and the registration information of the multifunction deviceinformation DB 21 b (S8). The control unit 20 of the authenticationserver 2 determines whether the multifunction device 1 is specified bythe multifunction device management unit 25 (S9). When the multifunctiondevice 1 is not specified (NO in S9), that is, the obtained informationof the multifunction device is not registered in the multifunctiondevice information DB 21 b, or when the code pattern are not decoded,the control unit 20 notifies the information processing terminal 3 ofthe specification error representing the fact that the multifunctiondevice 1 fails to be specified, through the communication unit 22 (S10).In this case, the control unit 20 of the authentication server 2discards the information of the code pattern and the authenticationinformation which are obtained from the information processing terminal3.

In the information processing terminal 3 that received the specificationerror, the control unit 30 displays, for example, the specificationerror on the operation panel 32 (S11), and ends the processing.

When the multifunction device 1 is specified (YES in S9), the controlunit 20 of the authentication server 2 reads the printing data stored inthe electronic data DB 21 a in association with the user (user ID)authenticated in step S3 by the storage processing unit 24. Further, thecontrol unit 20 transmits the printing data read from the electronicdata DB 21 a to the multifunction device 1 specified in step S8 (S12),and instructs the multifunction device 1 to execute the printingprocessing. Thereby, the printing processing, which was instructed to beexecuted by the user using the information processing terminal 3, canexecute.

Further, when the destination information (IP address) of themultifunction device 1 is, for example, included in the code pattern(information of the multifunction device) photographed by the imageobtaining unit 33 of the information processing terminal 3, theauthentication server 2 can obtain the destination of the multifunctiondevice 1 from the code pattern. Further, when the IP address is notincluded in the code pattern, the authentication server 2 may obtain theIP address corresponding to the information (multifunction device ID) ofthe multifunction device obtained from the code pattern from themultifunction device information DB 21 b to obtain the destination ofthe multifunction device 1.

The control unit 10 of the multifunction device 1 obtains the printingdata through the communication unit 14, and outputs the image based onthe obtained printing data by the image forming unit 13 (S13). Thereby,the authenticated user can use the multifunction device 1, and theprinting processing of the multifunction device 1 instructed by theauthenticated user may be executed.

After the image output ends, the control unit 10 of the multifunctiondevice 1 notifies the authentication server 2 of the processing resultthrough the communication unit 14 (S14). The control unit 20 of theauthentication server 2 receiving the processing result notifies theinformation processing terminal 3 of the processing result by themultifunction device 1 through the communication unit 22 (S15). Thecontrol unit 30 of the information processing terminal 3 displays thenotified processing result on, for example, the operation panel 32(S16), and notifies the user using the information processing terminal 3of the notified processing result. Thereby, the user instructing theprinting processing (image output) to be executed by the multifunctiondevice 1 using the information processing terminal 3 may know whetherthe printing processing has appropriately ended.

As described above, in the image output system according to Embodiment1, when the user requests the use permission (user authentication) ofthe multifunction device 1 to the authentication server 2 using theinformation processing terminal 3, it is not necessary to know thedestination information of the multifunction device 1 in advance.Further, the user may easily obtain the information of the multifunctiondevice 1 by photographing the code pattern displayed on (or attached to)the multifunction device 1 using the image obtaining unit 33 of theinformation processing terminal 3, and therefore may easily use themultifunction device 1.

In the image output system according to Embodiment 1, since the lowsecurity risk information such as the multifunction device ID, the nameof the multifunction device 1 and the information relating to theinstallation place of the multifunction device 1 is used as theinformation of the multifunction device, the information of themultifunction device transmitted from the information processingterminal 3 to the authentication server 2 does not include the networkidentification information such as the host name, the IP address, andthe MAC address of the multifunction device 1. Therefore, since secretinformation such as the network identification information is nottransmitted on the network, illegal obtainment of the secret informationcan be prevented, and thus security risks can be reduced.

Further, the information of the multifunction device may include thedestination information (network identification information) of themultifunction device 1. In this case, since the information processingterminal 3 can obtain the destination information of the multifunctiondevice 1 from the information (image data) obtained by photographing thecode pattern, the authentication server 2 need not manage thedestination information of the multifunction device 1 in advance. Theinformation of the multifunction device 1 is displayed on (or attachedto) the multifunction device 1 in a type of code pattern, and thereforeeven when the information of the multifunction device includes thedestination information of the multifunction device 1, the carelessleakage of the destination information (secret information) of themultifunction device 1 can be suppressed, and thus the security can bemaintained.

(Embodiment 2)

Hereinafter, an image output system according to Embodiment 2 will bedescribed. The image output system according to Embodiment 2 has thesame configuration as the above-described image output system accordingto Embodiment 1, and therefore the same components are denoted by thesame reference numerals and a detailed description thereof will beomitted.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of printing processing bythe image output system according to Embodiment 2. Further, in FIG. 9,the left processing represents the processing executed by themultifunction device 1, the central processing represents the processingexecuted by the authentication server 2, and the right processingrepresents the processing executed by the information processingterminal 3.

In the image output system according to Embodiment 2, the authenticationserver 2 and the information processing terminal 3 perform the sameprocessings as steps S1 to S11 in the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 5.Further, in step S9, when the multifunction device management unit 25 ofthe authentication server 2 specifies the multifunction device 1 basedon the information of the multifunction device (YES in S9), the controlunit 20 of the authentication server 2 determines whether encryptioninformation is included in the information of the multifunction deviceobtained by the decoding in step S7 (S21).

The encryption information is information of an encryption keycorresponding to a decoding key used in the decoding processing whichcan be executed by the multifunction device 1, and is included in theinformation of the multifunction device in advance. For example, in theimage output system, when data are transmitted between theauthentication server 2 and the multifunction device 1 without beingencrypted or when a level of the communication security between theauthentication server 2 and the multifunction device 1 is low, theencryption information is included in the information of themultifunction device.

When it is determined that the encryption information is not included inthe information of the multifunction device (NO in S21), the controlunit 20 of the authentication server 2 performs the same processing asstep S12 in the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 6. Thereafter, themultifunction device 1, the authentication server 2, and the informationprocessing terminal 3 performs the same processings as steps S13 to S16in the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 6.

Meanwhile, when it is determined that the encryption information isincluded in the information of the multifunction device (YES in S21),the control unit 20 of the authentication server 2 reads the printingdata stored in the electronic data DB 21 a in association with the user(user ID) authenticated in step S3 by the storage processing unit 24.Further, the control unit 20 encrypts the read printing data using theencryption information included in the information of the multifunctiondevice (S22), and transmits the encrypted data to the multifunctiondevice 1 specified in step S8 (S23). Thereby, the printing data aresafely transmitted from the authentication server 2 to the multifunctiondevice 1.

The control unit 10 of the multifunction device 1 obtains the encrypteddata through the communication unit 14, decodes the obtained encrypteddata using the decoding information (decoding key) previously kept bythe multifunction device 1 (S24), and outputs the image by the imageforming unit 13 based on the obtained printing data (S13). Further,next, the multifunction device 1, the authentication server 2, and theinformation processing terminal 3 performs the same processings as stepsS14 to S16 in the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 6.

As described above, in the image output system according to Embodiment2, since the printing data transmitted from the authentication server 2to the multifunction device 1 are encrypted, even when the data areleaked during the transmission, it is possible to prevent theinformation from leaking. Further, since the encryption informationcorresponding to the multifunction device 1 is included in theinformation of the multifunction device in advance, by photographing thecode pattern of the information of the multifunction device using theimage obtaining unit 33 of the information processing terminal 3, theuser can obtain the encryption information.

In the image output systems according to the Embodiments 1 and 2, sincethe user registers the printing data in the authentication server 2 inadvance, when the user requests the authentication (printinginstruction) to the authentication server 2 actually using theinformation processing terminal 3, only the information of the codepattern (the information of the multifunction device) and theauthentication information may be transmitted to the authenticationserver 2. By this configuration, in Embodiments 1 and 2, there is noneed to store the printing data in the information processing terminal3, and the amount of data transmitted from the information processingterminal 3 to the authentication server 2 can be reduced.

In addition to the above-described configuration, when the user requeststhe authentication (printing instruction) to the authentication server 2using the information processing terminal 3, the printing data may betransmitted to the authentication server 2, along with the informationof the code pattern and the authentication information. In this case,there is no need to manage the printing data for each user by theauthentication server 2, and thus the processing burden of theauthentication server 2 may be reduced.

In addition, when the user registers the plurality of printing data inthe authentication server 2 in advance, the user may request theauthentication to the authentication server 2 using the informationprocessing terminal 3, and when the user is authenticated, the user mayselect the desired printing data. In detail, when the user using theprint service accesses the authentication server 2 using the informationprocessing terminal 3 to obtain the predetermined web page, a printingrequest screen as illustrated on the upper side of FIG. 10 may bedisplayed on the display unit 32 b of the information processingterminal 3. FIG. 10 is a schematic view illustrating a modified exampleof the printing request screen. Similar to the printing request screenillustrated in FIG. 7, the input column for inputting the user ID andthe password and the login button are displayed on the printing requestscreen illustrated on the upper side of FIG. 10.

The user operates the operation panel 32 of the information processingterminal 3 to input his/her own user ID and the password, and operatesthe login button. The information processing terminal 3 transmits theuser ID and the password (authentication information) obtained throughthe printing request screen to the authentication server 2, and theauthentication server 2 authenticates the obtained authenticationinformation based on the registration contents of the user informationDB 21 c. When the user is authenticated, the authentication server 2transmits the web page for displaying the printing request screenillustrated on the lower side of FIG. 10 to the information processingterminal 3, and the information processing terminal 3 displays theprinting request screen as illustrated on the lower side of FIG. 10 onthe display unit 32 b based on the obtained web page.

The printing request screen illustrated on the lower side of FIG. 10displays file names, registered dates for each of the plurality ofprinting data previously registered in the authentication server 2 bythe logged-in user, and check boxes for selecting each printing data, inassociation with one another. Further, the check box may be configuredto select the plurality of printing data. Further, the printing requestscreen illustrated on the lower side of FIG. 10 displays a descriptionof the fact that the user photographs the pattern displayed on themultifunction device 1 by using the image obtaining unit 33 of theinformation processing terminal 3, the photographing button, and theprint button.

The user checks the check box of the printing data to be printed byoperating the operation panel 32 of the information processing terminal3, operates the photographing button, and photographs the code patterndisplayed by the multifunction device 1. The user photographs the codepattern, and then operates the print button to request the printingexecution by the desired multifunction device 1 to the authenticationserver 2. Thereby, the user can transmit the information representingthe printing data to be printed to the authentication server 2, alongwith the information of the code pattern. By the above-describedconfiguration, the data to be printed can be selected from the pluralityof printing data registered in the authentication server 2 using theinformation processing terminal 3, and therefore the operability isimproved.

The image output systems according to Embodiments 1 and 2 are configuredto display or attach the code pattern of the information of themultifunction device on the multifunction device 1 in advance. Inaddition to the above-described configuration, the authentication server2 may be configured to generate the code pattern of the information ofthe multifunction device based on the registration information of themultifunction device information DB 21 b. In detail, the authenticationserver 2 manages the multifunction device information DB 21 b, andtherefore the control unit 20 generates the code pattern using a part ofthe registration information of the multifunction device information DB21 b. The control unit 10 of the multifunction device 1 obtains the codepattern generated by the authentication server 2 through thecommunication unit 14, and displays the obtained code pattern on thedisplay unit 11 b to notify (present) the user. In this case, theauthentication server 2 manages the information of the IP address andthe like of the multifunction device 1, and therefore the information ofthe multifunction device needs not include the network identificationinformation such as the IP address. Therefore, even when the informationof the code pattern transmitted from the information processing terminal3 to the authentication server 2 is leaked, the leakage of secretinformation such as the network identification information may beprevented.

Further, the user may instruct the authentication server 2 to executethe processing of generating the code pattern through the operationpanel 11 of the multifunction device 1. In this case, whenever thecontrol unit 10 of the multifunction device 1 receives the instructionfor generation of the code pattern from the user, the control unit 10requests the generation of the code pattern to the authentication server2, and obtains the generated code pattern from the authentication server2. Since the authentication server 2 generates the code pattern, it ispossible to manage the code pattern of each multifunction device 1 atthe authentication server 2 at one time, and the multifunction device 1needs not to have the function of generating the code pattern. Further,when the code pattern are generated using the information (informationof the multifunction device) which is likely to be appropriatelychanged, the user can request the multifunction device 1 to execute theprinting processing using the latest code pattern.

(Embodiment 3)

Hereinafter, an image output system according to Embodiment 3 will bedescribed. The image output system according to Embodiment 3 has thesame configuration as the above-described image output system accordingto Embodiment 1, and therefore the same components are denoted by thesame reference numerals and a detailed description thereof will beomitted.

In the image output systems according to Embodiments 1 and 2, the codepattern of the information of the multifunction device displays orattaches on the multifunction device 1 in advance.

Compared with these, in the image output system according to Embodiment3, the multifunction device 1 generates the code pattern of its owninformation of the multifunction device, and displays the generated codepattern on the operation panel 11. Further, when generating the codepattern, the multifunction device 1 generates the code pattern by codingthe printing conditions to be set by the user in addition to theinformation (for example, multifunction device ID) of the multifunctiondevice.

In detail, the user who desires to use the multifunction device 1operates the operation panel 11 of the multifunction device 1 to set thedesired printing conditions, and operates, for example, a ‘code patterngenerating’ button (not illustrated) displayed on the operation panel11. When the code pattern generating button is operated, the controlunit 10 of the multifunction device 1 codes the predeterminedinformation of the multifunction device and the printing conditions setby the user, and displays the generated code pattern on the operationpanel 11 (display unit 11 b) to notify (present) the user. The printingconditions are the setting conditions relating to the processing whichcan be executed by the multifunction device 1, such as execution of N-upprinting, execution of color printing, and execution of black and whiteprinting.

Further, the operation of inputting the user information (authenticationinformation) through the printing request screen (see FIG. 7) and theoperation of obtaining the information (image data) of the code patternby imaging the code pattern displayed on the multifunction device 1 bythe image obtaining unit 33 of the information processing terminal 3 arethe same as Embodiment 1. In addition, the processing of theauthentication server 2 authenticating the user based on the userinformation obtained from the information processing terminal 3 is alsothe same as Embodiment 1.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of code patterngenerating processing by a multifunction device 1 according toEmbodiment 3.

The user using the print service operates the operation panel 11 of themultifunction device 1 to set the desired printing conditions. Thecontrol unit 10 of the multifunction device 1 receives the printingconditions set by the user through the operation panel 11 (S31). Thecontrol unit 10 determines whether the predetermined button such as thecode pattern generating button is operated by the user (S32), and whenthe predetermined button is not operated (NO in S32), for example, whena cancel button is operated, ends the processing.

When the predetermined button is operated (YES in S32), the control unit10 codes the predetermined information (multifunction device ID) of themultifunction device and the received printing conditions to generatethe code pattern (S33). Further, the control unit 10 displays thegenerated code pattern on the operation panel 11 (S34), and ends theprocessing. Further, the predetermined information of the multifunctiondevice, that is, the information for each multifunction device 1 isstored in the storage unit (not illustrated) in advance. Further, themethod of generating the code pattern are not particularly limited, andtherefore any method may be used.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of printing processingby the image output system according to Embodiment 3. Further, in FIG.12, the left processing represents the processing executed by themultifunction device 1, the central processing represents the processingexecuted by the authentication server 2, and the right processingrepresents the processing executed by the information processingterminal 3.

In the image output system according to Embodiment 3, the authenticationserver 2 and the information processing terminal 3 perform the sameprocessings as steps S1 to S11 in the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 5.Further, in step S9, when the multifunction device management unit 25 ofthe authentication server 2 specifies the multifunction device 1 basedon the information of the multifunction device (YES in S9), the controlunit 20 of the authentication server 2 specifies the printing conditionsfrom the information obtained by the decoding in step S7 (S35).Moreover, according to Embodiment 3, since the information of themultifunction device and the printing conditions are included in thecode pattern, the control unit 20 of the authentication server 2 canobtain the information of the multifunction device and the printingconditions when the code pattern are decoded in step S7.

The control unit 20 of the authentication server 2 reads the printingdata stored in the electronic data DB 21 a in association with the user(user ID) authenticated in step S3 by the storage processing unit 24.Further, the control unit 20 transmits the printing data read by theelectronic data DB 21 a to the multifunction device 1 specified in stepS8 (S12). In this case, the control unit 20 transmits the executioninstruction of the printing processing within the printing conditionsspecified in step S35 to the multifunction device 1, along with theprinting data. Thereby, the printing processing can be executed underthe conditions set by the user.

The control unit 10 of the multifunction device 1 obtains the printingdata and the printing conditions through the communication unit 14 andthe image forming unit 13 performs the printing processing (imageoutput) on the obtained printing data under the obtained printingconditions (S13). Thereafter, the multifunction device 1, theauthentication server 2, and the information processing terminal 3performs the same processings as steps S14 to S16 in the flowchartillustrated in FIG. 6.

As described above, in the image output system according to Embodiment3, as the information of the code pattern transmitted from theinformation processing terminal 3 to the authentication server 2, notonly the information of the multifunction device but also the printingconditions are included. Therefore, the user photographs the codepattern of the multifunction device 1 using the image obtaining unit 33of the information processing terminal 3 and transmits the photographedcode pattern to the authentication server 2 to be able to instruct theexecution of the printing processing under the desired printingconditions. A conventional system is configured to display thepredetermined printing condition setting screen on the informationprocessing terminal 3, when the user inputs the desired printingconditions to the information processing terminal 3, the informationprocessing terminal 3 transmits the inputted printing condition to theauthentication server 2. However, according to Embodiment 3, the useroperates the operation panel 11 of the multifunction device 1 to set theprinting condition, photographs the code pattern including the setprinting conditions using the information processing terminal 3, andtransmits the obtained information to the authentication server 2,thereby can transmit the desired printing condition to theauthentication server 2. Therefore, since the user operates only themultifunction device 1, burden of the operation for setting the printingcondition can be reduced.

Although Embodiment 3 describes, by way of example, a configuration ofcoding the information of the multifunction device and the printingconditions by the multifunction device 1, the multifunction devices 1according to Embodiments 1 and 2 may include a configuration of codingthe information of the multifunction device.

The authentication server 2 according to Embodiment 3 is configured totransmit the execution instruction of the printing processing within theprinting conditions (printing conditions set by allowing the user tooperate the multifunction device 1) obtained from the informationprocessing terminal 3 to the multifunction device 1, but it is notlimited to the above-described configuration.

For example, the authentication server 2 manages the printing conditionsrelating to the printing processing, which can be actually executed byeach multifunction device 1, based on the multifunction deviceinformation DB 21 b (see FIG. 4). Therefore, the authentication server 2may be configured to specify the printing conditions actually instructedto the multifunction device 1 based on the printing conditions obtainedfrom the information processing terminal 3 and the registrationinformation of the multifunction device information DB 21 b.

In detail, the control unit 20 of the authentication server 2 determineswhether the printing conditions included in the information obtainedfrom the information processing terminal 3 coincide with the printingconditions (usable setting) registered in the multifunction deviceinformation DB 21 b. If it is determined that both of the printingconditions coincide with each other, the control unit 20 specifies theprinting conditions included in the information obtained from theinformation processing terminal 3 as the printing conditions actuallyinstructed to the multifunction device 1. If it is determined that bothof the printing conditions do not coincide with each other, for example,when the printing conditions obtained from the information processingterminal 3 are the execution of the color printing and the printingconditions registered in the multifunction device information DB 21 bare the execution of the black and white printing, the control unit 20specifies the execution of the black and white printing as the printingconditions actually instructed to the multifunction device 1. Further,the control unit 20 transmits the execution instruction of the printingprocessing under the specified printing conditions to the multifunctiondevice 1, along with the printing data. Thereby, for example, even whenthe printing conditions which cannot be actually executed by themultifunction device 1 are transmitted from the information processingterminal 3, the authentication server 2 changes the printing conditionsto the printing conditions which can be actually executed by themultifunction device 1, and then transmits the execution instruction ofthe printing processing to the multifunction device 1, thereby it ispossible to reliably execute the printing processing.

Further, the authentication server 2 manages the printing conditions(usable setting) which are permitted to each user based on the userinformation DB 21 c (see FIG. 4). Therefore, the authentication server 2may be configured to specify the printing conditions actually instructedto the multifunction device 1 based on the printing conditions obtainedfrom the information processing terminal 3 and the registrationinformation of the user information DB 21 c.

In detail, the control unit 20 of the authentication server 2 determineswhether the printing conditions included in the information obtainedfrom the information processing terminal 3 coincide with the printingconditions registered in the user information DB 21 c for the user. Ifit is determined that both of the printing conditions coincide with eachother, that is when the printing conditions requested by the user arethe printing conditions which are permitted to the user, the controlunit 20 specifies the printing conditions included in the informationobtained from the information processing terminal 3 as the printingconditions actually instructed to the multifunction device 1. If it isdetermined that both of the printing conditions do not coincide witheach other, for example, when the printing conditions requested by theuser are N-up printing and the printing conditions which are permittedto the user are 1-up printing, the control unit 20 specifies theexecution of the 1-up printing as the printing conditions actuallyinstructed to the multifunction device 1. Further, the control unit 20transmits the execution instruction of the printing processing under thespecified printing conditions to the multifunction device 1, along withthe printing data. Thereby, the printing conditions which can beexecuted for each user can be limited, and the printing processingwithin the printing conditions permitted to each user can be reliablyexecuted.

(Embodiment 4)

Hereinafter, an image output system according to Embodiment 4 will bedescribed. The image output system according to Embodiment 4 has thesame configuration as the above-described image output system accordingto Embodiment 3, and therefore the same components are denoted by thesame reference numerals and a detailed description thereof will beomitted.

The image output system according to Embodiment 4 has a configuration inwhich the multifunction device 1 generates the code pattern of its owninformation of the multifunction device, and when generating the codepattern, generates the code pattern including the status informationrelating to the operation state of the multifunction device 1 as well asthe information (for example, multifunction device ID) of themultifunction device.

In detail, the control unit 10 of the multifunction device 1 monitorsthe operation state of the multifunction device 1, and for example,monitors the occurrence of any error such as ‘running out of ink’,‘inexecutable of the N-up printing’, ‘occurrence of paper jamming’. Whenany error occurs, the control unit 10 codes the predeterminedinformation of the multifunction device and the information representingthe occurring error, and displays the code pattern on the operationpanel 11 (display unit 11 b) to notify (present) the user.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of code patterngenerating processing by the multifunction device 1 according toEmbodiment 4.

The control unit 10 of the multifunction device 1 determines whether anyerror has occurred in the multifunction device 1 (S41), and when anerror has not occurred (NO in S41), performs other processings until anerror occurs and is in a standby state.

When an error occurs (YES in S41), the control unit 10 of themultifunction device 1 codes the predetermined information(multifunction device ID) of the multifunction device and theinformation representing the occurred error, and generates the codepattern (S42). In addition, the control unit 10 displays the generatedcode pattern on the operation panel 11 (S43), and ends the processing.Further, the predetermined information of the multifunction device andthe information representing the error are stored in the storage unit(not illustrated) in advance.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of printing processingby the image output system according to Embodiment 4. Further, in FIG.14, the left processing represents the processing executed by themultifunction device 1, the central processing represents the processingexecuted by the authentication server 2, and the right processingrepresents the processing executed by the information processingterminal 3.

In the image output system according to Embodiment 4, the authenticationserver 2 and the information processing terminal 3 perform the sameprocessings as steps S1 to S11 in the flowchart illustrated in FIG. 5.Further, in step S9, when the multifunction device management unit 25 ofthe authentication server 2 specifies the multifunction device 1 basedon the information of the multifunction device (YES in S9), the controlunit 20 of the authentication server 2 determines whether an error hasoccurred in the multifunction device 1 based on the information obtainedby the decoding in step S7 (S51). Moreover, according to Embodiment 4,since the information of the multifunction device and the informationrepresenting the error are included in the code pattern, the controlunit 20 of the authentication server 2 can obtain the information of themultifunction device and the information representing the error when thecode pattern are decoded in step S7.

When it is determined that an error has not occurred in themultifunction device 1 (NO in S51), the control unit 20 of theauthentication server 2 performs the same processing as step S12 in theflowchart illustrated in FIG. 6. Thereafter, the multifunction device 1,the authentication server 2, and the information processing terminal 3performs the same processings as steps S13 to S16 in the flowchartillustrated in FIG. 6.

Meanwhile, if it is determined that an error has occurred in themultifunction device 1 (YES in S51), the control unit 20 of theauthentication server 2 notifies the information processing terminal 3of the fact that an error has occurred in the multifunction device 1,from the communication unit 22 (S52). In the information processingterminal 3 to which the occurrence of an error is notified, the controlunit 30 displays the fact that an error has occurred in themultifunction device 1, for example, on the operation panel 32 (S53),and notifies the user of the occurrence of an error, and ends theprocessing. Thereby, the user instructing the printing processing (imageoutput) to be executed by the multifunction device 1 using theinformation processing terminal 3 can understand that the multifunctiondevice 1 cannot be used due to the occurrence of an error in themultifunction device 1. Further, the control unit 20 of theauthentication server 2 may notify the information processing terminal 3of a kind of the error occurring in the multifunction device 1.

As described above, in the image output system according to Embodiment4, since the information transmitted from the information processingterminal 3 to the authentication server 2 includes the statusinformation of the multifunction device 1, the authentication server 2can understand the fact that an error has occurred in the multifunctiondevice 1 at the time of requesting the authentication and the printingfrom the information processing terminal 3.

In a conventional system, the authentication server 2 cannot understandthe occurrence of an error in the multifunction device 1 until theprinting failure from the multifunction device 1 is notified withrespect to the instruction after the authentication server 2 instructsthe multifunction device 1 to execute the printing processing. However,according to Embodiment 4, the authentication server 2 can understandthe occurrence of an error in the multifunction device 1 at the time ofdecoding the information obtained from the information processingterminal 3, and therefore can understand the occurrence of an error atan early stage and quickly take action against the error.

According to Embodiment 4, the authentication server 2 is configured tostop the printing processing by the multifunction device 1 when it isdetected that an error has occurred in the multifunction device 1, andnotify the information processing terminal 3 (user) of the fact that anerror has occurred in the multifunction device 1. In addition to theconfiguration, for example, even when an error occurs in themultifunction device 1, if the printing processing which can be executedby the multifunction device 1 is present, the authentication server 2may be configured to instruct the multifunction device 1 to execute theprinting processing.

In detail, the authentication server 2 determines the operation state ofthe multifunction device 1 based on the status information obtained fromthe information processing terminal 3, and when running out of color inkin the multifunction device 1, determines whether the multifunctiondevice 1 can perform the black and white printing based on theregistration information of the multifunction device information DB 21b. Further, when the black and white printing can be performed, theauthentication server 2 transmits the execution instruction of the blackand white printing to the multifunction device 1. Thereby, even when anerror has occurred in the multifunction device 1, the printingprocessing within the printing conditions which can be executed by themultifunction device 1 can be performed.

According to Embodiment 4, the information processing terminal 3 isconfigured to transmit the information obtained by imaging the codepattern to the authentication server 2, and the authentication server 2is configured to decode the obtained information to obtain theinformation of the multifunction device and the status information ofthe multifunction device 1. In addition to the above-describedconfiguration, the information processing terminal 3 may have a decodingfunction, and may be configured to decode the information obtained byphotographing the code pattern. In this case, the control unit 30 of theinformation processing terminal 3 can determine whether an error hasoccurred in the multifunction device 1 based on the status informationobtained by the decoding at the time of decoding the code pattern.Therefore, it is possible to detect an error and take action against theerrors at an earlier stage. Further, in this case, the informationprocessing terminal 3 may be configured to transmit the information ofthe multifunction device and the status information obtained by thedecoding to the authentication server 2, and in the case of theconfiguration, processing burden of the authentication server 2 can bereduced.

Further, for example, the authentication server 2 may be configured tofurther include a component for notifying a terminal carried by aservice worker managing the multifunction device 1 of the occurrence ofthe error when the authentication server 2 detects that an error hasoccurred in the multifunction device 1.

According to the above-described Embodiments 1 to 4, when the userrequests the authentication (printing instruction) to the authenticationserver 2 using the information processing terminal 3, the image outputsystem may be configured to simultaneously transmit the information(information of the multifunction device) of the code pattern and theauthentication information from the information processing terminal 3 tothe authentication server 2. Therefore, it is possible to easilyassociate the user information (authentication information) with theinformation of the multifunction device. Further, the user can performthe authentication request and the printing request, and therefore whenthe user is logged in to the authentication server 2, the operability isimproved. By the above-described configuration, for example, even whenthe printing is performed using the multifunction device 1 (publicprinter) installed in a convenience store used for the first time,unnecessary time to operate the multifunction device 1 is not required,and the printed material may be quickly obtained.

In addition to the above-described configuration, for example, only theauthentication information is first transmitted from the informationprocessing terminal 3 to the authentication server 2, and as the resultof the authentication processing by the authentication server 2, whenthe user is authenticated, the image output system may be configured totransmit the information of the code pattern from the informationprocessing terminal 3 to the authentication server 2. Further, when theuser requests the authentication, in the configuration in which theprinting data are transmitted to the authentication server 2 along withthe information of the code pattern and the authentication information,the image output system may be configured to first transmit theinformation of the code pattern to the authentication server 2, and whenthe multifunction device 1 is specified by the authentication server 2,transmit the printing data from the information processing terminal 3 tothe authentication server 2.

In the information processing terminals 3 according to Embodiments 1 to4, the user operates the operation panel 32 on the printing requestscreen to input the authentication information (user ID and password).In addition to the above-described configuration, for example, when theinformation processing terminal 3 has an IC card reader, the informationprocessing terminal 3 may be configured to read the authenticationinformation from the IC card storing the user ID and the password inadvance.

(Embodiment 5)

Hereinafter, an image output system according to Embodiment 5 will bedescribed. The image output system according to Embodiment 5 has thesame configuration as the above-described image output systems accordingto Embodiment 1 to 4, and therefore the same components are denoted bythe same reference numerals and a detailed description thereof will beomitted.

In the image output systems according to Embodiments 1 to 4, the userneeds to perform the user registration for the print service in advance.In the image output system according to Embodiment 5, even though theuser is not registered, the multifunction device 1 can be used.

In the multifunction device 1 according to Embodiment 5, for example, a‘trial print’ button (not illustrated) is displayed on the operationpanel 11. When the user who is not registered desires to use themultifunction device 1, the user operates the trial print buttondisplayed on the operation panel 11. When the trial print button isoperated, the control unit 10 of the multifunction device 1 codes thepredetermined information (multifunction device ID) of the multifunctiondevice and the printing permission information for temporarilypermitting the use of the multifunction device 1, and displays thegenerated code pattern on the operation panel 11 (display unit 11 b) tonotify (present) the user.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of code patterngenerating processing by the multifunction device 1 according toEmbodiment 5.

The control unit 10 of the multifunction device 1 determines whether thetrial print button of the operation panel 11 is operated by the user(S61), and when the trial print button is not operated (NO in S61), thecontrol unit 10 of the multifunction device 1 performs other processingsuntil the trial print button is operated and is in a standby state.

When the trial print button is operated (YES in S61), the control unit10 codes the predetermined information (multifunction device ID) of themultifunction device and the permission information, and generates thecode pattern (S62). Then, the control unit 10 displays the generatedcode pattern on the operation panel 11 (S63), and ends the processing.Further, the predetermined information of the multifunction device andthe permission information are stored in the storage unit (notillustrated) in advance.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of printing processingby the image output system according to Embodiment 5. Further, in FIG.16, the left processing represents the processing executed by themultifunction device 1, the central processing represents the processingexecuted by the authentication server 2, and the right processingrepresents the processing executed by the information processingterminal 3.

In the image output system according to Embodiment 5, although the useris not registered, the user who desires to use the print service usesthe information processing terminal 3 to access the authenticationserver 2 providing the print service. Further, the informationprocessing terminal 3 obtains the predetermined web page from theauthentication server 2, and displays a printing request screen on thedisplay unit 32 b based on the obtained web page (S71).

FIG. 17 is a schematic view illustrating a configuration example of theprinting request screen. In the printing request screen illustrated inFIG. 17, in addition to the input column for inputting the user ID andthe password of the user who desires to use the print service, thephotographing button, and the print button, a check box for selectingthe ‘use trial print’ is displayed.

The user who is not registered operates the operation panel 32 of theinformation processing terminal 3 to check the check box of the ‘use thetrial print’ instead of inputting the user ID and the password.

Meanwhile, the user operates the trial print button of the multifunctiondevice 1 to display the code pattern coding the multifunction device IDand the permission information on the operation panel 11 of themultifunction device 1. Further, the user operates the photographingbutton of the printing request screen, and the control unit 30 of theinformation processing terminal 3 photographs the code pattern which isdisplayed on the multifunction device 1 using the image obtaining unit33, and obtains the information (image data) of the code pattern. Theuser photographs the code pattern, and then operates the print button torequest the printing execution by the multifunction device 1 to theauthentication server 2.

When the check box of the ‘use trial print’ is checked on the printingrequest screen, the control unit 30 of the information processingterminal 3 transmits only the obtained information of the code patternto the authentication server 2 through the communication unit 34 withoutwaiting for the input of the user ID and the password (S72).

When obtaining only the information of the code pattern through thecommunication unit 22, the control unit 20 of the authentication server2 decodes the obtained information of the code pattern (S73), andobtains the information (multifunction device ID) of the multifunctiondevice and the permission information. The control unit 20 determineswhether the permission information is included in the informationobtained by the decoding (S74), and if it is determined that thepermission information is not included in the information obtained bythe decoding (NO in S74), notifies the information processing terminal 3of the fact that the use of the multifunction device 1 cannot bepermitted, through the communication unit 22 (S75). In this case, thecontrol unit 20 of the authentication server 2 discards the informationof the code pattern which is obtained from the information processingterminal 3.

In the information processing terminal 3 which is notified of the factthat the use of the multifunction device 1 cannot be permitted, thecontrol unit 30 displays the fact on the operation panel 32 (S76), andends the processing.

When the permission information is included in the information obtainedby the decoding (YES in S74), the control unit 20 (multifunction devicemanagement unit 25) of the authentication server 2 specifies themultifunction device 1 based on the information of the multifunctiondevice obtained by the decoding and the registration information of themultifunction device information DB 21 b (S8). Thereafter, themultifunction device 1, the authentication server 2, and the informationprocessing terminal 3 performs the same processings as steps S9 to S16in the flowchart illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6.

As described above, in the image output system according to Embodiment5, even when the user is not registered in the print service and has nothe use authority for the multifunction device 1, the user can receivethe temporary use authority. Therefore, the user can use the trial printservice provided by the image output system.

Further, the user ID and the password may be temporarily given to theuser who requests the use of the multifunction device 1 by theabove-described processing, to perform one-time printing processing, andmay be given the use authority for a predetermined period.

The information processing terminals 3 according to Embodiments 1 to 5are configured to obtain the information of the multifunction device byphotographing the code pattern using the image obtaining unit 33, butare not limited to the above-described configuration. For example, whenthe code pattern of the information of the multifunction device is a barcode, the information processing terminal 3 may include the code readunit such as a bar code reader instead of the image obtaining unit 33,and may be configured to obtain the information of the multifunctiondevice using the code read unit. Further, when the informationprocessing terminal 3 includes the IC card reader, the informationprocessing terminal 3 may be configured to obtain, by the IC cardreader, the information of the multifunction device from the IC cardrecording the information of the multifunction device and being attachedto the multifunction device 1. Further, when the multifunction device 1and the information processing terminal 3 can communicate using infraredrays, the information processing terminal 3 may be configured to obtainthe information of the multifunction device from the multifunctiondevice 1 by the infrared communication.

In the image output systems according to embodiments 1 to 5, themultifunction device 1 notifies the authentication server 2 of theprocessing result, and therefore the authentication server 2 canunderstand the processing result by the multifunction device 1.Therefore, when the completion of the printing processing is notified,the authentication server 2 may perform the deletion of the printingdata kept in the authentication server 2, the understanding of the usageof the multifunction devices 1 of each user and the like. Further, asthe processing result, when the detailed usage of each user, forexample, the printing processing contents such as a size of an outputsheet, the number of output sheets, and the execution of the black andwhite printing or the color printing are included, it is possible toperform the billing processing for each user based on the information.

In Embodiments 1 to 5, the information processing terminals 3 isconfigured to transmit the information (image data) obtained byphotographing the code pattern using the image obtaining unit 33 to theauthentication server 2, and the authentication server 2 is configuredto decode the code pattern to obtain the information of themultifunction device. In addition to the above-described configuration,the information processing terminal 3 may have the decoding function,and may be configured to obtain the information of the multifunctiondevice by decoding the information obtained by photographing the codepattern, and transmit the obtained information of the multifunctiondevice to the authentication server 2. In this case, the processingburden of the authentication server 2 can be reduced.

The image output systems according to Embodiments 1 to 5 are configuredto include one authentication server 2, and the user accesses thepredetermined authentication server 2 and obtain the web page providingthe print service. That is, one authentication server 2 of an accessdestination is provided. In addition to the above-describedconfiguration, the image output system may include the plurality ofmultifunction devices 1 and the plurality of authentication servers 2,and may have a configuration in which each authentication server 2manages each of the plurality of multifunction devices 1 which areassigned in advance, and the user accesses the authentication server 2managing the multifunction device 1 that the user desires to use andobtains the web page providing the print service from the authenticationserver 2.

In this case, for example, the information of the multifunction device 1includes the server information for specifying the authentication server2 managing the multifunction device 1, and the information processingterminal 3 accesses the appropriate authentication server 2 based on theobtained information of the multifunction device. In detail, forexample, the information of the multifunction device 1 includes URL foraccessing the authentication server 2 (web page) managing themultifunction device 1 that the user desires to use. Further, theinformation processing terminal 3 obtaining the information of themultifunction device accesses the URL included in the information of themultifunction device to access the appropriate authentication server 2,thereby obtains the appropriate web page (printing request screen). Thatis, the control unit 30 of the information processing terminal 3 mayspecify the authentication server 2 to be accessed based on the URLincluded in the information of the multifunction device. Therefore, theburden of the authentication processing can be dispersed by theplurality of authentication servers 2, and each user can obtain theinformation (destination information) of the appropriate authenticationserver 2 only by photographing the code pattern of the information ofthe multifunction device by using the image obtaining unit 33 of theinformation processing terminal 3.

In the image output systems according to Embodiments 1 to 5, theauthentication server 2 transmits the printing data to the multifunctiondevice 1 through the network N. Further, the image output system mayhave a configuration in which the authentication server 2 appropriatelyswitches and uses one of a plurality of communication methods such asFTP communication, HTTP communication, and email transmission and thelike as the method of transmitting the printing data to themultifunction device 1. In detail, the information of the multifunctiondevice 1 includes the communication method which can be used in themultifunction device 1, and the authentication server 2 specifies thecommunication method which can be used in the multifunction device 1based on the information of the multifunction device obtained from theinformation processing terminal 3, and uses the specified method whentransmitting the printing data to the multifunction device 1. Forexample, when the printing data cannot be transmitted to themultifunction device 1 by the FTP communication, the authenticationserver 2 may transmit the printing data to the multifunction device 1through the email. Further, an email address of the multifunction device1 may be included in the information of the multifunction device 1, andmay be registered in the multifunction device information DB 21 b of theauthentication server 2 in advance. Thereby, the authentication server 2can reliably transmit the printing data to the multifunction device 1 bythe optimal method.

The above-described configuration is effective in particular in thesituation that the authentication server 2 is connected to the globalnetwork and the multifunction device 1 is assigned only privateaddresses of a network environment of enterprise. That is, in such thesituation, the authentication server 2 cannot perform the directcommunication with the multifunction device 1, but if the authenticationserver 2 can obtain an email address of the multifunction device 1, itis possible to transmit the data to the multifunction device 1 using theemail address. Further, for example, in the case in which thecommunication method is fixed (for example, only FTP communication) whenthe authentication server 2 transmits the printing data to themultifunction device 1, if the multifunction device 1 at thetransmitting destination cannot use the FTP communication method, theauthentication server 2 cannot transmit data to the multifunction device1. However, if one of the plurality of communication methods can be usedas described above, data can be transmitted using the optimalcommunication method within an environment in which the image outputsystem is constructed.

In the image output systems according to Embodiments 1 to 5, theauthentication server 2 is configured to transmit the printing data tothe multifunction device 1 when the authentication server 2authenticates the user and specifies the multifunction device 1. Inaddition to the above-described configuration, when receiving thetransmitting request from the multifunction device 1, the authenticationserver 2 may be configured to transmit the corresponding printing datato the multifunction device 1. For example, the multifunction device 1periodically confirms the printing request to the authentication server2, and if there is a confirmation from the multifunction device 1,specifically, if there is a printing request to the multifunction device1, the control unit 20 of the authentication server 2 may be configuredto transmit the corresponding printing data to the multifunction device1. In this case, even in the environment in which the data may not betransmitted from the authentication server 2 to the multifunction device1, if the access from the multifunction device 1 to the authenticationserver 2 is possible, the authentication server 2 can transmit theprinting data to the multifunction device 1 depending on the requesttherefrom.

Further, even when the authentication server 2 fails to transmit theprinting data to the multifunction device 1, the authentication server 2can retransmit the printing data depending on the access from themultifunction device 1. Therefore there is no need to stop the printingprocessing. Further, according to above-described Embodiments 1 to 5,when the authentication server 2 fails to transmit the printing data tothe multifunction device 1, the authentication server 2 may beconfigured to retransmit the printing data after a predetermined timeelapses.

According to Embodiments 1 to 5, the authentication server 2 may furtherhave a configuration to keep the information of the multifunction deviceand the user information (authentication information) obtained from theinformation processing terminal 3 in the storage unit (not illustrated).In this case, in the storage unit, the information of the multifunctiondevice and the user information may be managed as log information andthe kept information may be analyzed. Further, in the authenticationserver 2, a billing processing according to the usage of the imageoutput device, an analysis processing of usage for the image outputdevice and the like may be executed.

In the image output system according to the present invention, inaddition to the multifunction device 1, a printer which has only aprinter function, a display device which displays an image and the likemay be used.

Although the embodiments of the present invention are described indetail, each configuration and operation may be appropriately changedand therefore are not limited to the foregoing embodiments.

As this description may be embodied in several forms without departingfrom the spirit of essential characteristics thereof, the presentembodiments are therefore illustrative and not restrictive, since thescope is defined by the appended claims rather than by the descriptionpreceding them, and all changes that fall within metes and bounds of theclaims, or equivalence of such metes and bounds thereof are thereforeintended to be embraced by the claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An image output method comprising:displaying a code pattern by an image output device upon receiving aninstruction from a user to generate the code pattern, wherein the codepattern is collectively coded device information specifying the imageoutput device and a setting related to processing by the image outputdevice; capturing an image of the code pattern displayed on the imageoutput device using a camera of an information processing device;analyzing the image of the code pattern to obtain the device informationand the setting related to processing included in the code pattern bythe information processing device; obtaining user information specifyinga user by the information processing device; transmitting to a processorthe obtained user information and device information, and the settingrelated to processing, by the information processing device;authenticating the user based on the transmitted user information by theprocessor; receiving an instruction for executing an image output andthe setting related to processing by the image output device specifiedbased on the transmitted device information; executing processing basedon the received setting by the image output device; and executing theimage output by the image output device when the user information isauthenticated by the processor.
 2. The image output method according toclaim 1, wherein the code pattern is a barcode.
 3. The image outputmethod according to claim 1, wherein the code pattern is a QR code. 4.The image output method according to claim 1, wherein the informationprocessing device comprises a portable computer, a portable gamemachine, a portable telephone, or a personal digital assistants (PDA).5. The image output method according to claim 1, wherein the deviceinformation is an Internet Protocol address.
 6. The image output methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the user information comprises a user IDand a password.
 7. The image output method according to claim 1,comprising transmitting, by the processor, the printing data selected bythe user through the information processing device to the specifiedimage output device.
 8. An image output method using an informationprocessing device, comprising: obtaining device information and asetting related to processing from data obtained by capturing an imageof a code pattern displayed on an image output device using a cameraprovided in the information processing device, wherein the code patternis collectively coded device information specifying an image outputdevice and a setting related to processing by the image output device;obtaining user information specifying a user by the informationprocessing device; and transmitting the obtained device information andsetting related to processing, and the obtained user information to anexternal device, by the information processing device.
 9. The imageoutput method according to claim 8, wherein the code pattern is abarcode.
 10. The image output method according to claim 8, wherein thecode pattern is a QR code.
 11. An image output device comprising: adisplay configured to display a code pattern upon receiving aninstruction from a user to generate the code pattern, wherein the codepattern is collectively coded device information specifying the imageoutput device and a setting related to processing by the image outputdevice; a receiver configured to receive an instruction for executing animage output and the setting related to processing, wherein theinstruction is transmitted to the image output device specified based onthe device information; and a processor configured to: executeprocessing based on the received setting; and execute the image outputwhen user information inputted in the information processing device isauthenticated.